Technology is Alive.....with The Sound of Music!

via GIPHY

As a little  girl, living in Canada, I remember my mom making me sit down with her, probably around the holidays, to watch The Sound of Music (TSOM), starring Julie Andrews with her.  It quickly became one of my favorite movies and I can sing the soundtrack with my eyes closed!  And I absolutely CANNOT hold a note so you can imagine what that sounds like.  I'm what I like to call a "shower singer" or a "car singer."  In my mind I sound like a mix between Beyonce, Ella Fitzgerald and Whitney Houston!  I digress....

I have two sons, a junior in college and an eighth grader and surprisingly (not really) they, nor my husband have any interest in watching The Sound of Music with me any time of the year, let alone around the holiday season.  Recently, I have discovered that a few of my coworkers also share this love and passion of this holiday classic with me and prior to letting out for the holidays, we had a few cubicle concerts while working!

Watching this movie a few weeks ago, I was singing the songs and had a thought!  Some of the songs in TSOM, relate to the world of instructional technology.  I challenge you to come along on this journey with me throughout this post as we begin to center our  thoughts around the work we will do in this realm in the new year!

For those of you that LOVE The Sound of Music as much as I do, I'm including the YouTube videos for each of the songs that I'm referencing below!  Feel free to sing along...I am as I'm typing this!  For those of you that don't share this guilty pleasure of mine, I challenge you to click on at least ONE of the videos below to "put you in character" as you finish reading this post!  😁

I Have Confidence

This song makes you feel empowered to do anything!  Let me set this up for you!  Maria (Julie Andrews) has left the Abbey to go and be a Nanny for the VonTrap family.  She is nervous and excited at the same time to go on this new journey.  As she leaves the Abbey on her way to her new life, she belts out this song.  Part of the song says, "I've always longed for adventure.  To do the things I've never dared.  Now here I'm facing adventure.  Then why am I so scared?"  In regard to edtech, this makes me think about how we feel on the first day of school when we are going to meet a new class of students, or when we've changed schools or positions, or at the beginning of a new year, or when we are about to implement a new tool.  Why do we get scared?  What are we afraid of?  I challenge you to plant yourself, be excited for the journey that you've signed up for, and dive in head first!  We've chosen to become educators, administrators, ed tech leaders, or whatever you are, so don't be scared!  Embrace the journey and know that your path is different than those around you.  You have no reason to be scared!  Have confidence!  You can and you will do whatever you set your mind out to!

My Favorite Things

This is my absolute FAVORITE song from TSOM!  I have blogged and tweeted about numerous of my favorite ed tech things!  Here are a few: Twitter, Flipgrid, Google Apps for Education, Microsoft Suite for Education, Kahoot, Quzziz, Today's Meet, Padlet, the Reflector App, to name a few.  I like to keep the list of my favorite things iterative in nature because technology changes all of the time.  This group of my favorites have been going strong for a while, however I'm always looking for the next big thing!  There have been times when I have tried a new tool and it has failed miserably!!  These are the times that I go back to my toolbox of favorites and to what I know works!  Maria sings, "When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad."  When we try something new and it fails, it can feel like a dog bite or a bee sting.  However, if we just remember our favorite things and those tried and true things that we know to work, we will always have a back up plan!  

Climb Ev'ry Mountain

What are you dreaming for in your classroom, for your students, for your school or for your district?  "Climb every mountain, Search high and low, Follow every byway, Every path you know, Climb every mountain, Ford every stream, Follow every rainbow, 'Til you find your dream."  Coming back to school and work in January is a mix of feelings.  There's a lot of excitement for the newness, possibility and wonder of a new year to make a difference.  There's a feeling of being refreshed.  There's also a feeling of being half way there!  One more semester to go before the summer break, the countdown is on!  I want you to consider this to be the beginning of the next 5 months to be able to make a difference and pour into your students, teachers or administrators.  Train your mind to not be on the countdown about a job that you HAVE to do, but rather a 5 month opportunity to make a difference and create positive and impactful change!  So again I ask, what are you dreaming for?  What mountain has been in front of you that you've been wanting to climb?  Is there a new tech tool that you've been wanting to learn?  Have you wanted to start a blog or a podcast?  What about Skyping or Google Hangout-ing with students in another country?  Starting a school wide Twitter account?  Whatever it is, do it!  Climb that mountain!  Follow your rainbow!  You can do it!

Do-Re-Mi

The reason that I included this song, is because if you think about it, the order in which a song comes together is the same as a good technology lesson coming together.  In TSOM, when Maria is teaching the VonTrap children how to sing, she teaches them the basics that make up any song, do-re-mi.  Once you have the basics, you can sing any song.  The same goes for the world of ed tech.  Once you know the basics, you can create an awesome lesson.  Follow me here....once you have the content that you want to teach (the notes, the do-re-mi), you can use any tool (the song) to enhance the content.  I always share with my teachers and administrators that you don't ever want to pick a tool first!  This is a trap!  Don't do it!!!  As educators, we go to conferences and hear about a cool new tool and want to go back and use it with our class tomorrow!  Don't!!!  It won't work!!!  Technology tools are NEVER something to do!  Tech tools should enhance the lessons and and act as a vehicle to deliver the content!  So, get the basics down.  What is it that you want your students to learn?  Once you know that, you can choose the vehicle, or the tools to get you there!  

Something Good

Something Good is such a romantic, feel good song. Maria and Captain VonTrap sing to each other as they declare their love for each other.  "Perhaps I had a wicked childhood.  Perhaps I had a miserable youth.  But somewhere in my wicket, miserable past, there must have been a moment of truth."  They go on and on but these lines really resonated with me in the following manner.  As educators, we all bring something different to the table.  We all have a past.  We all grew up differently and have a lot to bring to the table. The fact that you have been chosen and selected to be an educator, an ed tech leader, or otherwise is a BIG deal!  You have an opportunity and a responsibility to take the very best of you each and every day and use it to make a difference.  Your past is your past.  It's YOUR truth.  Own it!!!  I think we become a lot more approachable to our students and our peers when we are transparent and relatable.  As the song says, you may have had a not so good childhood but you had a moment of truth when you decided and demanded better for your life and your future.  You know how I know this?  Because you're here, on this day, at this exact moment.  

So Long, Farewell

Now, with all of that being said, if you try a tool out in your class and it doesn't work, so long, farewell, it goes!  One of the amazing results of creating relationships with your students along with a safe environment, is that you can take risks right along with your kids!  Be transparent with them when you want to try something new!  I guarantee they'll be open to it!  They may even help you with it's implementation!  Be honest with them, though!  Once you've tried, get their feedback.  Take time to reflect on the lesson and tech integration.  Use your feedback and theirs to make changes for improvement or even get rid of the idea all together and go back to the drawing board!

So, there you go!  You now know that I'm a SUPER fan of The Sound of Music!  What about you...what do you have to confidence to do?  What are some of your favorite things? What mountains are you climbing? What's something good that you've done so far this year? Has there ever been a time when you've had to get rid of a tool or lesson because it simply just didn't work?